Raindrops
by agroxneko
Summary: AU. It had been a rainy day and a chance meeting with a stranger that led Azusa to Yui and after that it seems like Azusa can't get away from her and the two get closer than Azusa would ever had thought.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I haven't written anything anime related in a while, but I decided to post this after some debating. I hope you all like it and please review, it helps a lot and I always appreciate any I get.

* * *

"Crap, I overslept!" Azusa stumbled out of bed, trying to change as fast as possible. Somehow, she had overslept her alarm and she mentally cursed herself for doing so. She knew it was probably from the day before. She had gone to the office early like usual, but she also ended up staying later than usual. Well, later than she usually did.

She quickly walked over to her dresser and grabbed a neatly folded skirt and white blouse. Once it was on she gave herself a quick look over in the mirror, folding out the wrinkles in her clothes. She ran to the door, quickly put on her heeled shoes and hurried out.

She ran down the stairs of her apartment as fast as she could, which wasn't very fast, and eventually made it outside and walked down the street to her the office building. She was almost halfway to work when she felt something wet hit her head, and groaned when she realized it was starting to rain. She picked up the pace, but the rain had started to come down fast and she quickly ducked under a balcony over a door of another building.

As she stood watching the rain, she cursed herself for forgetting a jacket and contemplated running to work or just going home and grab a jacket. She looked at the direction of her apartment, weighing the options. Going to work with her clothes soaking wet without a change of clothes wasn't the best option, especially when her white blouse would become see through once it was wet. She was already late, so she may as well get her jacket. Just as she was about to go home she heard a giggle next to her and she turned her head to see a girl leaning out past the balcony and looking up at the sky.

"So nice..." She said in a dreamy voice and Azusa blinked at her.

"Nice? It's rain." She said plainly and the other girl moved back under the balcony and looked at her, her hair wet from the rain. Azusa couldn't help but think that if her voice didn't make her seem young, her large brown eyes looking up at her definitely did.

"Of course," She said, as if it was obvious. She looked back up to the sky and smiled. "It sounds nice, especially when you're sleeping, and it's so much fun to play in." Azusa blinked at her, she didn't think rain was nice at all. If anything, it was a bother. It made her wet and sticky and it was cold, why anyone would want to play in it was a wonder to her.

"Crap, work!" She yelled, suddenly remembering why she was out in the rain in the first place. She looked at her phone and groaned. "I'm so late and I got to go back home..." She shoved her phone back in her purse and turned to leave, but the other girl stopped her.

"Ah, you don't have a jacket," Azusa turned to look at her and was surprised to see the girl taking off her jacket. "Here." She held it out to her and Azusa's eyes widened.

"W-what? No that's-"

"I don't mind not having one." The girl said with a smile and Azusa gaped at her. What kind of person gave their jacket to a stranger? The girl frowned at Azusa's expression and shrugged as she shoved the jacket into Azusa's hands. Azusa was about to shove it away when the other girl let go of it and Azusa quickly grabbed it out of reflex. The girl grinned knowingly and started backing up with a wave.

"Hope you aren't too late!" She yelled back and turned around.

"Hey, wait!" But it was too late, the girl was already running away in just the shirt she was wearing underneath and a skirt, and there was no way Azusa could chase after her in the shoes she was wearing. Azusa looked at the jacket in her hand and bit her lip. She slowly started to put it on, there was no point not to anymore, and instinctively brought the collar of it up to her nose and smelled it.

It smelled nice, despite how ragged it looked.

She quickly zipped up the jacket started walking to work, thinking about that girl with brown hair.

* * *

When she finally made it to work, she was in fact late, much to her annoyance. However, her boss, Akiyama Mio, didn't mind at all.

"Its fine, after all you work so much anyway, we can let this one slide." Mio said with a smile, but that didn't make Azusa feel any better. Not only was she ashamed she was even late to something, she had a lot of respect and admiration for her boss, and she didn't want to disappoint her. After apologizing she went to her desk and sat down with a sigh.

It was then that she realized that she still had on the jacket and she looked down at it and then at the window next to her desk. The rain was still pouring outside and she could hear it hitting the window over the sounds of inside the building.

_How is rain nice?_

She quickly shook her head and took off the jacket, neatly hanging it off on the back of her chair before going to work. Thinking about the girl wasn't going to change the fact that she lent her the jacket. Sighing, she went back to work, putting all her focus on it. She had no idea how long had passed, and it wasn't until she felt a tap on her shoulder that she actually stopped and she looked up to see Mio smiling at her.

"You don't have to work so much, you know." Mio said softly and Azusa blushed and looked down. She snuck a glance at the clock, and saw it was late, well passed the time she was supposed to get off work.

"It's fine, I want to work." Mio frowned and leaned against Azusa's desk.

"You work too much," Mio said. "You were able to go home an hour ago," Azusa shrugged as if it was nothing and Mio sighed and noticed the jacket. "Is that new?" She asked, frowning as she looked at it. It definitely didn't look new, and wasn't the kind of style Azusa usually wore.

"Huh? Oh, no I...borrowed it." Azusa said. She fully intended to give to give it back to the girl that lent it to her, so technically it was borrowing. She doubted the girl was going to let her keep it forever anyway.

"Oh, from a friend, that's nice." Mio said with a smile. At least Azusa didn't work herself so hard she had no social life. It was something Mio worried about, seeing the girl working so hard sometimes scared her and she wondered if she set time aside to socialize outside of work. Sure, she herself was a hard worker, but she knew when to take time off and relax with friends. Azusa looked at the jacket and frowned.

"...Not exactly." Mio frowned at that and looked at Azusa.

"Huh?" Azusa sighed and looked up at Mio.

"A stranger gave it to me when it started raining." Mio furrowed her eyebrows and scratched at her head.

"Oh that's...odd."

"That's what I thought." Azusa admitted and Mio smiled.

"Well, that was nice of her, but how are you going to give it back?" Azusa hadn't really thought of that. She had seen the girl on the way home a couple of times before, playing her guitar on the streets and collecting the money people put in her case. She had never talked to her before, though a few times she did stop and watch the girl play the guitar.

She was always amazed at the girl's talent and always noticed how well maintained the guitar was. Even when she was looking the worse, her guitar looked the best and Azusa knew she cared for it a lot. She momentarily thought back to her old guitar, and wondered how dusty and battered it looked now before pushing the thoughts away. She gave up on playing guitar a long time ago, there was no point thinking of it now.

"I guess I just have to find her." Azusa mumbled as she looked at it. She got up and looked outside; it was still raining. With a sigh she grabbed the jacket and said good night to Mio and left. On the way home she looked all around, hoping to find the girl, but there was no sight of her. Soon she was home and knew she'd have to find the girl tomorrow, maybe she could get up early and look around?

After making dinner and taking a bath, she laid in bed, holding up the jacket in her hands. Now that she was home, she took the time to _actually_ look at it. It was long and was form fitting, even if it was a little big on Azusa. She ran her hand over the fabric, feeling the rough jean like texture of it. She turned it over, inspecting every patch on it, which stood out from the jacket's dark color. Then she finally landed on something and furrowed her eyebrows at it. It wasn't just one patch, but rather three letters sewed on.

_HTT?_

What did that stand for? She tried to think of something, a company or brand that went by those three letters. After a few minutes, she couldn't think of anything and she looked at the letters again. Whatever, it wasn't like it was important for her to know. She closed her eyes but all she thought of that night was the girl who gave her the jacket and she unconsciously held it to her chest as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning Azusa woke up earlier than usual and headed outside. It wasn't raining, so she held the jacket in her hand as she looked around, hoping to find the girl again. After an hour or so of looking, there was still no sign of her and Azusa slowly walked back to the apartment. She neatly folded it and placed it away before changing for work and heading out again.

For the next week, Azusa followed the same routine. She would get up early to look for the girl, but never find her. She was never one to give up on something, but after a week and a half of not finding the girl again, she had finally gave up looking.

So it had come as a surprise when she was walking home one afternoon and she heard the familiar sound of a guitar being played. She paused for a second, making sure she had actually heard it before quickly following the sound until she turned a corner and saw a small group of people crowding around something she couldn't see. She quickly walked to the crowd and pushed her way to the front, and finally saw the girl again.

The girl was sitting cross legged on the ground, wearing jeans, a shirt, and this time a sweater. She had a peaceful smile on her face and Azusa's eyes trailed down to her fingers, watching their movement. Azusa watched the girl's fingers, the way they moved so easily, and she felt her own fingers twitch. Finally, much to Azusa's disappointment, the girl stopped playing and she jumped when people around her started clapping.

Blushing, Azusa clapped along with them and some people just left while others threw some money in the guitar case, with the girl thanking them all the while. Azusa waited until they were all gone and watched the girl put away her guitar, a Gibson Les Paul, the cleanest thing the girl seemed to own.

"Did you get in trouble for being late?" Azusa jumped and saw the girl staring up at her with a wide smile.

"H-huh?" She asked, embarrassed that she had been too busy staring to pay attention to what the girl had just said.

"Work," The girl said again. "I hope you weren't too late."

"U-um, I wasn't, at least, not that late, I mean, I didn't get in trouble or anything so…" Azusa said, and realized in horror that she had been stuttering and sounding completely flustered, not in controlled sentences like always. The other girl seemed amused by Azusa and placed her elbows on her legs and stared up at Azusa with her head rested in her hands.

"You're cute." She said, making Azusa blush.

"I-I'm not!" The girl grinned and stood up with her guitar.

"So cute," The girl said softly, mostly to herself. "Ne, what's your name?"

"Nakano Azusa." Azusa said and the girl's smile widened.

"Such a cute name," Azusa was starting to find it disturbing the amount of times she'd been called cute by this girl, and suddenly wished the girl never lent her the jacket. "I'm Hirasawa Yui." Yui replied as she stood up to her full height, and Azusa noticed she was taller. Then again, Azusa was never a tall person.

"Nice to meet you." Azusa said politely and Yui gave a nod as she swung the guitar strap over her shoulder. Yui pulled out her phone and looked at the time quickly before putting it back in her pocket and giving Azusa a small wave.

"Well, I gotta get going now, bye." Yui said and started turning around, but Azusa quickly reached out and grabbed her shoulder.

"Hey, wait," Yui paused and turned around slightly to look at her. "Um, your jacket. I need to give it back." Yui looked at her blankly for a second before a look of realization crossed Yui's face and she smiled sheepishly at Azusa.

"Oops, I was about to forget that again," Yui said, making Azusa sigh at the forgetfulness. "Give it to me tomorrow, right here, kay?" Yui asked as she started walking away again, and Azusa slowly nodded. Yui gave her one last wave before turning around fully and walking off again, much like the first time Azusa met her.

As Azusa watched Yui disappear in the street, she sighed. Yui was definitely strange, that was for sure. Azusa turned around and walked back to her apartment and as she did so, all she could think about was how Yui kept calling her cute. Azusa blushed as she thought of the word, she didn't think she was cute, but for some reason Yui did, who had just met her. She quickly shook her head, there was no reason to get worked up over something like that. After all, once she gave the jacket back to Yui, she was never going to see her again, right?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **This took a lot longer to update than I had planned, but I finally did it. So, here's the next chapter with more interaction from Azusa and Yui, and a new character making an appearance. Also, thank you for all your reviews! I hadn't written anything for K-On before, and hadn't written for any anime in a while. Hopefully the next chapter won't be too long away, and until then, enjoy.

* * *

Azusa woke up to the harsh sunlight coming in and groaned as she turned to face away from the window. As she did so, she opened her eyes and caught the site of Yui's jacket neatly hanging over her desk chair. Azusa couldn't wait to give it back and go to her usual routine. With a sigh Azusa forced herself to look away and get out of bed.

She quickly changed into her work clothes and looked out the window before she left. Fortunately, it wasn't raining, instead the sky was clear, with the occasional cloud here and there. Satisfied with the weather, she turned away from the window and headed outside.

On the way to the office he couldn't help but look around for Yui, but in the end she couldn't find the girl and was already at work. She sighed and shook her head, as if that would get thoughts of Yui out of her head. She didn't even know why she kept thinking of the girl, but Azusa knew she didn't like it. It was distracting. As Azusa made her way to her desk, she realized it was probably because she had her jacket. Yes, that was it. Once Azusa gave the jacket back, she would completely forget about Yui, and Yui would forget about her.

* * *

Work had been an easy enough distraction, and she hadn't thought about Yui at all. Once she got out of work, she made her way back to her apartment and grabbed the jacket before heading out again. Azusa sighed as she walked through the streets to the meeting point as fast as she could.

When she had finally reached it, she looked around and saw Yui nowhere in sight. Azusa frowned as she looked at the people walking by, all of them not Yui. Thinking that she was early, Azusa stood and waited, and kept waiting. After a few minutes, Azusa sighed and took out her cell phone. As she looked at the time, she wondered if she had gotten the location wrong by chance. However, she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps running, followed by heavy breathing.

She looked next to her in surprise and saw Yui, bent over with her hands on her knees, guitar laying on her back, and out of breath. After a few seconds she regained her breath and she looked up at Azusa from behind her bangs, grinning a little.

"Sorry I'm late," Yui said with a light laugh as she stood up to her full height. "I got caught up." Azusa sighed in annoyance, but decided not to say anything. She was about to ask what had caught her up when she remembered the jacket in her arms and she held it out to her.

"Here's your jacket, Hirasawa-san." Yui's face brightened and she placed her guitar down before taking the jacket from Azusa's hands.

"Thanks." Yui said as she started putting it on, and Azusa looked over at the guitar case laying by Yui's feet. As she stared at the case, she thought back to her own guitar that she had gave up a long time ago. Suddenly a mixed feeling of nostalgia and bitterness came over her, as it did every time she thought of guitars. She had loved her old guitar, and if it weren't for her parents, she would still have it. She frowned and looked away, not wanting to think about it anymore.

"Are you okay, Nakano-san?" Azusa jumped at the sound of Yui's voice and she looked over to see Yui looking at her with a frown. Azusa quickly forced a smile and nodded, and Yui gave her a hesitant smile back, seemingly not convinced.

"Of course, I am," Azusa said, hoping Yui would just brush it off. She didn't like how the girl was looking at her, like she could somehow look _into_ her. It unnerved her, considering they just met. "Well, thank you for the jacket and it was nice meeting you, Hirasawa-san, but I have to go now." Azusa gave her a polite bow, turned around, and started walking away.

"H-hey, wait!" Yui called out and Azusa paused her steps. As she turned back around, she saw Yui running to her as she was putting her arms through the straps of her guitar case. The taller girl came to a stop in front of her, and smiled at Azusa.

"Um, well, I was thinking I should thank you."

"Thank me?" Azusa asked incredulously. She wondered if Yui was serious, but as she looked at her, she realized she was. Thank her? Azusa didn't understand, if anyone had to be saying thank you, it was _her_. Yui had been the one to give _her_ jacket to Azusa, not the other way around, and Azusa couldn't wrap her head around it.

"Yeah," Yui said and Azusa frowned more in confusion. "I got my jacket back, so I should thank you." The way Yui had said it, it made it seem like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"But… that doesn't make any sense." Azusa mumbled to herself.

"Huh?" Yui asked, not catching what Azusa said. Azusa looked up and shook her head.

"Nothing," Azusa said quickly. "It's fine, you don't have to thank me, and I have work to do anyway."

"Oh, okay" Yui said, and Azusa noticed how disappointed Yui sounded.

"Okay, well… bye." Azusa said awkwardly and gave another polite bow before turning to walk back to her apartment. As Azusa walked away she could feel eyes on her back and she wondered if Yui was watching her go. Looking past her shoulders, she saw Yui, standing in the same spot and indeed staring, while other people walked past her. As soon as Yui noticed Azusa looking back, she jumped lightly and quickly walked in the opposite direction and Azusa was staring at her back before she lost sight of the girl completely.

Azusa sighed and looked forward again, thinking that was that. They were never going to see each other again and that was fine with Azusa. She didn't need another person in her life messing up her routine, least of all an odd stranger. She didn't mind, not anymore. She had spent a lot of her time as child being alone since she had never been very good at making friends.

She didn't actually make a friend, a _real_ friend, until High School. She had the same class as Suzuki Jun, and Azusa found she couldn't be happier to find a friend like Jun. Sure, Jun was always more popular, and had more friends that Azusa could ever hope to have, but Jun always preferred to spend her lunch and time outside of school with her.

Then, they graduated and went to a different university and Azusa was afraid that she would never see or talk to the only friend she had. Luckily, though, Jun never forgot about her and they kept in contact. Azusa couldn't help but smile a little at the fact that Jun made sure to text Azusa a few times every week. Mostly with her joking about how much Azusa worked and calling her a "workaholic", no matter how much Azusa complained about it.

As she kept thinking about her friendship with Jun, she felt her phone go off in the pocket of her suit jacket. She quickly pulled her phone out and opened it to see a text from Jun, and she raised an eyebrow at the timing before opening it up.

_How's my favorite workaholic doing? – Jun_

Azusa rolled her eyes at Jun's words.

_I'm not a workaholic, but I'm doing good anyway. – Azusa_

_Whatever you say. Anyway, you doing anything right now? - Jun_

_No, why? – Azusa_

_Perfect, cuz I'm starving and I'm on the way to this new place I found and you're house is on the way. Wanna come? – Jun_

Azusa looked up and saw her apartment, and furrowed her eyebrows as she thought about it. Although it was rather sudden, going out _would_ be nice, and it was the perfect way to get Yui out of her head completely. Azusa quickly looked down and started pressing the keys.

_Sure, why not – Azusa_

She got a quick reply from a happy Jun saying she would be there in about five minutes, and Azusa smiled and placed her phone away. She quickly walked to her apartment room and changed as fast as she could, in jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and some sneakers. As she made her way downstairs, she felt her phone go off again, and she pulled it out.

As she looked at it, she opened the front door and stepped outside the building, not noticing anyone around her. Suddenly, she felt a hands on her shoulder and she jumped in surprise. Turning around, she saw Jun behind her, grinning.

"Sup, glad you weren't too busy working." Jun said, and Azusa shrugged.

"Actually, I just got off…" Azusa said with a small smile, and Jun sighed at her. Azusa knew Jun wondered how she was able to work so much, and didn't like it so much.

"You know, all that stress is gonna give you wrinkles," Jun suddenly grinned at her. "You'll probably end up looking super old in five years or something." Azusa frowned and touched her face lightly, feeling for wrinkles, before realizing what she was doing and brought her hand down quickly.

"N-no, I'm not!" Jun laughed and started walking down the street.

"Sure, c'mon, let's get some food, I'm starving." Jun said and Azusa quickly caught up to her and as the two made their way to the restaurant, Azusa listened to Jun talk about what was going on in her life lately. Besides, Jun had always led a much more interesting life than Azusa, all Azusa had done lately was just more work.

Well, there was the fact that she met Yui, but Azusa hardly thought that was exciting enough to bring up, especially when she was sure she was never going to meet the brunette again. They eventually made it to the restaurant and Azusa followed Jun inside. As they entered, Azusa noticed that it wasn't as packed as she would have thought and they were able to get a table right away. As she followed Jun to a booth, she saw that the restaurant itself was somewhat small, more like a diner than a restaurant. Not that Azusa minded, it had a relaxed atmosphere and she kind of liked the look of it.

Jun had led them to a booth that was close to the stage, but still a distance away. Once they sat down and finished looking over the menu, Azusa looked at the singer and listened as she waited for their waiter to take their order.

"This place reminds me of back in High School," Azusa looked at Jun, who was also staring at the band. "Do you still play?" Jun asked and Azusa looked down, slightly ashamed. She used to play all the time, when she was growing up, but it had been a long time ago and now she hardly played. Now, her guitar was stashed away in a closet gathering dust and long forgotten about.

"Do you?" Azusa asked instead, not wanting to talk about it. Jun shrugged, not taking her eyes off the people playing.

"Sometimes, yeah," Jun said and Azusa frowned a little. "I don't think I'd ever stop playing completely. What about you?" Just then their waiter came up to take their order, and Azusa sighed in relief at being saved from answering. The waiter took her order first, and Azusa noted the singer had stopped singing and she could hear the sounds of the instrument being moved about.

Unfortunately, she couldn't see, due to the waiter being in her line of sight. As Jun took her order, the singer began singing again, but Azusa noted there was something different about the instrumental part, something she couldn't put her finger on. The waiter turned to walk away, but before she could see, Jun leaned forward the table to talk to her and Azusa looked at her instead.

"So, even though the food's okay, it's not expensive and they hire a bunch of people to play when it's open for the people eating." She said excitedly, and as Azusa listened to her talk she grabbed her glass of water and began drinking out of it. Jun looked back to the people on the stage and Azusa followed her eyes, still drinking the water.

Suddenly, Azusa's eyes widened and she spat out her water in shock, making Jun jump and look at her wide eyed as she wiped the water off her as discreetly as she could.

"Holy crap, you okay?" Azusa placed her cup down and nodded as she coughed. Jun looked at her with a mix of confusion and amusement. "You sure?" Azusa nodded again and Jun gave her one last look before looking back at the performance. Azusa followed her gaze again and looked at the cause of her choking on her drink.

There, sitting on the same stool as the previous guitarist, was Yui. Of all places she saw her again it had to be _here_.

Maybe Azusa should stop thinking she wouldn't see Yui again.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Wow, it has been a _really _long time since I updated this fic, and my others too, and I'm really sorry about that. I've been busy with class and just haven't sat down and typed it out. However, I finally did and hopefully I can get back to updating with more reasonable times in between. Until then, hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

"She keeps looking over here." Jun said, confused. It was true, Azusa had been staring openly in shock and she didn't look away until Yui had looked up and caught her eye. Ever since then, Yui would look over at her from time to time.

"Ah, she did it again." Azusa looked up and sure enough, there was Yui, looking at her with a little grin as she played her guitar perfectly. Azusa quickly looked away and sank in her seat. Luckily, the waiter came and placed their food in front of them and Azusa was glad that, for a brief moment, Yui couldn't see her.

Once the waiter walked away, Azusa kept her focus on the food in front of her, refusing to look at Yui. As Azusa ate, she realized Yui must have stopped staring because Jun stopped pointing it out, which she had done every time. Azusa decided to take a chance and looked up, sighing a breath of relief when she saw Yui was looking down again.

"Ne, aren't they good?" Jun said with a grin and Azusa nodded.

"Yeah, sure." She said distractedly. She still couldn't believe she ran into Yui again. Jun huffed at her indifferent response and looked back at the band. Azusa followed her gaze and looked over at Yui just as they finished their song.

Everyone began clapping and Azusa watched as Yui got up, along with the others, and stepped off the stage. Azusa watched as Yui walked towards her table and she began to panic. Was Yui going to go over to her? Azusa watched, expecting Yui to stop right in front of them, but instead, Yui walked right past her without even a glance.

Azusa blinked in surprise and turned in her seat, watching Yui make her way to the bar. Slowly, Azusa turned back around and stared at her plate.

"She's a pretty good guitarist, huh?" Azusa looked up and blinked at Jun.

"Huh?" She asked.

"The girl you keep staring at, she's pretty good, huh?" Jun said and Azusa blushed lightly.

"I-I was not staring!" Jun gave her a disbelieving look and Azusa tried again. "I mistook her from someone else." Jun looked at her for a few seconds before shrugging and going back to her food. Azusa sighed and turned back to her food as well.

The rest of the dinner was spent with Azusa and Jun talking about what had happened to them in the past few month, when they hadn't spoken to each other. Azusa smiled and laughed with Jun, glad that they were finally able to hang out together, she had missed her friend. They talked about everything, well, nearly everything. Azusa decided not to mention Yui, or the fact that she knew why the taller girl kept looking over at them.

Once they finished eating, Jun offered to pay and Azusa nodded, still thinking about Yui despite everything. Jun frowned at the lack of response, usually Azusa would insist that she pay a little too. Instead of saying anything, Jun simply paid and once they stood up, Azusa spoke up.

"Hey, Jun, I just remembered there's something I have to do for work, is it okay if I head home early?" Azusa asked. She had hoped, and expected, to spend some time with Jun after eating, but with the sight of Yui, she couldn't get the girl out of her mind. It was hard enough concentrating on Jun during dinner, and knew it was going to be just as hard for the rest of the night.

"Oh, uh, sure, it's fine." Jun said awkwardly, and rather confused.

"Thanks, I'll make it up to you next week." Azusa said as she smiled apologetically and waved goodbye at Jun before walking out. Jun watched her go and frowned, knowing that Azusa was acting odd. She looked at the stage where she had saw the guitarist and thought back to how the brunette had stared at them.

"Huh," Jun said to herself as she pushed her arms through her jacket. "I wonder who that chick was." Jun wasn't dumb, and as she remembered Azusa's reactions after seeing the girl, she wondered if they knew each other. Deciding to ask Azusa about it later, she finished putting on her jacket and walked out of the restaurant.

* * *

Azusa sighed as she walked out of her apartment the next morning, looking at her phone. Jun had texted her after she had fallen asleep, asking if she was alright. Azusa was texting back as she walked to work when she felt herself bump into someone.

"Sorry, I-" She stopped when she looked up and saw _who_ she bumped into. Yui looked down at her with a grin and laughed lightly.

"You should watch where you're going, Nakano-san." Yui said with a grin, and Azusa couldn't help but huff and look away.

"Yeah, well, so should you." Azusa snapped and Yui frowned.

"But I did," Yui said softly to herself.

"Right, well, I should get going so I'm not late." Azusa said and began walking past Yui until she heard Yui call out behind her.

"I'm going that way too." She turned around and saw Yui place her hands in her pockets as she walked up to her. Once she was next to her, she continued walking, and looked at Yui out of the corner of her eye.

As she looked at Yui, she couldn't help but think that they must have looked like an odd pair to people walking around them. Yui was next to her with the same jacket and guitar on her back, this time wearing a wrinkly t-shirt under it and ripped jeans with her sneakers. Complete with her messy hair, she looked like she had just rolled out of bed. Then there was Azusa, the complete opposite. Everything about her was pristine, from her hair to her business suit, and her footsteps noticeable from the heels she wore.

Still, the walk together had a comfortable silence, and Azusa was surprised that she didn't mind walking with the other girl, as strange as she was. It wasn't until she was relatively close to her office building when Yui spoke up.

"I have to turn here," Yui said and waved at Azusa. "I'll see you later, Nakano-san."

"You too, Hirasawa-san." Azusa said and waved back at Yui as the taller girl started walking away. Once Yui turned around, Azusa stared at her retreating form for a few moments before shaking her head and walking towards work again.

* * *

Azusa didn't know what had gotten into her that day at work. Usually, she spent her breaks inside, working even when she didn't need to. Today, however, she couldn't concentrate. With a sigh, she placed her things away and stood up. She walked to the elevator just as Mio did, and Azusa stood next to her boss awkwardly, waiting for the elevator doors to open.

"Ah, Nakano-san," Mio said in surprise, it wasn't often that she saw her that far from her cubicle. The only times was when she was doing an errand or going to a meeting. There were plenty of times that Mio had gone to drop something off at that floor during Azusa's break, and found her there. "How are you?"

"Good, Akiyama-san." Azusa said and Mio smiled.

"Going somewhere?" Azusa looked up again and saw Mio motioning to her purse.

"Oh, yes, I'm going out to eat lunch this time." Azusa said, knowing it wasn't often that she did. Just then the elevator doors opened and the two walked in, and Mio pressed both of their floors.

"It's good to see you take a break once in a while, especially with all the hard work you put in." Mio said lightly, and Azusa saw a small smile. Azusa gave her a shy smile back, happy for the compliment she had gotten from her boss. Just then the doors opened, and with a goodbye and a "keep up the good work" from Mio, she walked out.

Once she was gone, Azusa sighed. Despite how nice Mio was, being near her made her slightly uncomfortable. Mio was nice, and Azusa found herself appreciating her beauty more than once, however it was the status Mio had made for herself that made Azusa so timid around her. In the history of the workplace, Mio was the youngest worker to make her to the top so quickly. Still, Azusa couldn't help but be in awe of Mio and secretly look up to her.

The elevator doors slid open again on the first floor and Azusa walked out of them, on the way to eat lunch out. She walked down the streets of the city until she reached a small café that was close to her office building. She walked in the café and walked to the short line that had formed. Once she was at the counter, she quickly ordered her food and stepped aside for the next person. As she looked at her phone for the time, she heard a familiar voice order food and she snapped her head up to see the familiar guitar case and jacket. Just then, Yui turned around and saw Azusa standing in front of her.

"Ah, Nakano-san!" Yui said with a grin as she walked over to Azusa.

"Hirasawa-san," Azusa said in surprise. "Are you stalking me?" A look of confusion passed over Yui's face and Azusa quickly realized what she had said. "Ah, sorry, I just-" Yui's lips curved upward in amusement before letting out a small laugh.

"it's fine," Yui said and Azusa sighed in relief. "Besides, shouldn't I be asking _you_ that?"

"Me?" Azusa asked, confused. Yui's grin widened and she nodded.

"Yeah, after all, you showed up at my work."

"Oh," Was all Azusa said. She opened her mouth to explain that she had no idea Yui worked there when she heard her order. She went to the counter grabbed it, and walked back to Yui. "Um, I'm going to sit down and eat now…" Yui nodded and Azusa made her way to a table. Once she sat down, she looked at Yui, who had her back turned to her and was still waiting for her food. Yui's order was called and she walked to the counter and picked it up. Once she turned around, Azusa quickly looked down at her food and started eating.

"Can I sit here?" Azusa looked up, and saw Yui standing in front of her.

"Sure." Azusa said and watched as Yui sat down in front of her with a rather large order of food. As soon as she sat down, she started stuffing the food into her mouth quickly, and Azusa stared at her in amazement. Yui looked up and noticed her staring, and lowered her fork and laughed embarrassedly.

"I haven't eaten all day."

"Oh, sorry for staring," Azusa said softly as she looked down, embarrassed herself for getting caught staring. Yui just laughed and shrugged.

"It's fine, I'm kind of a big eater."

"Really?" Azusa said and Yui nodded. She looked at her own food, remembering that she had to hurry up, she began eating and Yui tilted her head as she watched her. As Yui watched her eat, she couldn't help but think that the small bites Azusa took made her look like a cat. She suppressed a giggle, knowing Azusa wouldn't like it if she found what Yui found funny, and turned her attention to her food again.

"Ne, Hirasawa-san," Azusa said, and Yui looked up. "I didn't know you worked at that restaurant."

"Yep, I play guitar there," Yui said and smiled. "I was surprised when I saw you there, though." Azusa recalled the other night and blushed lightly at the little smirk Yui gave her when they locked eyes.

"You sure didn't look surprised." Azusa muttered to herself, and she saw Yui give her that same smirk for a second before smiling lightly again.

"I saw you with that girl, too." Yui said, frowning a little bit.

"Oh, that was my friend." Azusa said with a smile, and Yui blinked.

"Friend?" Azusa nodded and Yui smiled and looked down.

"I see." She said to herself and Azusa looked at her, confused by the small smile that lingered on Yui's face at the word friend. She shook her head and didn't say anything, instead going back to her meal. She finished eating quickly and stood up once she was done.

"My break's almost over, I have to go, see you later, Hirasawa-san." Yui looked up, there was still food on her tray, and she nodded.

"See you later, Nakano-san." Azusa nodded and walked out of the café. Yui sighed and looked out the window next to her, watching Azusa walk down the street until she couldn't be seen anymore.

* * *

Azusa sighed as she got out of work and began walking home. She felt a breeze hit her and she shivered, causing her to pull her jacket closer to her and wrap her arms around herself. She looked up at the sky, or at least what she could see of it. The buildings were so tall and nearly all had some sort of TV or sign attached to it. Those that didn't were usually like where she worked, full of floors of cubicles and offices.

With all the noises and lights that came from the city, it was so easy to get caught up in things, and for her, it was always work. As she looked at the dark night, she wondered what it was that Yui got caught up in. Definitely not work, but then she recalled the time she ran into Yui at the restaurant and remembered what Yui told her earlier in the café. Thinking maybe Yui was at work, she looked back down and sighed.

"Why do I even care?" She muttered to herself. She hugged herself closer and continued on her walk home. She decided to take a short cut and walked through the park. As she walked through it she looked around the people around her, and despite it being night, it was filled with people, some dressed like her in their work clothes, and some dressed in casual wear.

Suddenly, she heard the familiar sound of a guitar, and looked around to find the source. Azusa almost didn't see her at first, but she found Yui. At first she just saw the guitar, she could spot that pristine Gibson Les Paul from a mile away, and she moved her eyes up to the person's face. Except, she couldn't really see the face, but she could see the brown hair sticking out of the hood over the person's head, and she spotted the HTT on the jacket.

Azusa frowned as she watched Yui pluck a few strings then stop for a few seconds before starting again. It was odd to see Yui play like that, she was used to seeing Yui play in confidence, but now it seemed all of it was gone.

Azusa looked at the direction of her apartment, wondering whether or not she should just go home. Deciding against it, and finding it wasn't very to do just that, she began walking towards Yui. As soon as she was close enough, and Yui hadn't looked up, she spoke up.

"Hirasawa-san?" Yui jumped in surprise and looked up. She blinked in surprise before taking down her hood and smiling up at her.

"Ah, Nakano-san, you scared me," Yui laughed lightly and rubbed the back of her head. "I guess I'm more out of it than I thought." Azusa shifted her feet nervously, wondering what to say. She wasn't very good at conversations, and she usually didn't go up to people first.

"Anything wrong?" Yui sighed and leaned back, patting the spot next to her on the bench as she did so. Azusa immediately sat down next to her and watched her.

"Just having trouble with a song." Yui admitted and Azusa looked at the guitar in Yui's hand.

"Oh, so you're trying to play a song?" Azusa asked, and Yui smiled.

"More like trying to make one." Azusa blinked and looked at Yui in awe.

"Really?" Yui nodded and Azusa smiled. "That's amazing!" Yui smiled and looked down embarrassed.

"It is?" Yui asked rather sheepishly.

"Of course it is!" Azusa looked up at the Yui with the biggest smile Yui had ever seen on her. Azusa's smile faltered a little and she looked at Yui curiously. "But why now? And why outside?"

"Because, Nakano-san," Yui said, and Azusa looked at her intently, waiting for her answer. "You gotta do it when inspiration strikes, and I like being outside anyway, it helps me think," Yui looked forward and watched the people in the park walk past them. "It reminds me that there's so much more going on the in the world than just what's happening to me." Yui said softly, mostly to herself.

Azusa couldn't help but stare at Yui, who looked different at that moment. The shadows cast by the street lights and the serious expression on her face made her seem more… mature, somehow. Though Azusa was sure Yui was mature enough already, her carefree attitude often make her look the opposite.

Azusa slowly turned her head and pulled her eyes away from Yui until the last second. She looked out at the people walking past them and the ones sitting down talking to others. All Azusa could see were strangers going through their daily routine, or whatever it was they were doing, and nothing more. As she was trying to see what Yui was seeing, and feeling, Yui's voice made her look back at her.

"Sorry, it must have sounded weird." Yui said, the faraway look gone and a sheepish smile back on her face.

"No, it's fine." Azusa said and looked back at the people walking in front of them. She was still trying to figure out what Yui meant when she heard the other girl stand up and looked over just in time to see her stretch.

"Well, I should go."

"Eh? You're going?" Azusa asked, her voice sounding much more pleading than she had wanted. She immediately blushed at her voice and Yui grinned as she sat back down again.

"I can stay, if you want." Yui said and Azusa looked down.

"No, you don't have to." She mumbled quietly, but neither of them moved. After a few seconds of silence Azusa heard Yui move around and looked over. Yui was putting away her guitar, and Azusa thought she was going to leave anyway, however, once the guitar was put away she rested the case at her feet before leaning back with her arms on the back of the bench. Azusa sighed in relief and looked out at the sea of people walking.

As they sat there in silence and looked at the people, Azusa thought back to what Yui said and began wondering where the people were going and what they were doing, which was unusual for her. Before, she would go home after work and only go out if she had to. She never took the time to look at other people walking in the street, she never had a reason before.

Azusa looked away from the people and looked at Yui, who was still looking forward. Azusa watched Yui's face and noted how relaxed she looked. She wondered what Yui's day was like that made her always look relaxed. As Azusa sat at the bench, for once outside of home and actually relaxing, the rest of the day caught up with her and she let out a yawn.

"Tired?" Yui asked and Azusa nodded. She stood up and turned to Yui, who had started standing up.

""I'll walk you home." Yui said as she grabbed the guitar case. Azusa nodded and stood up as well, and the two made their way to Azusa's apartment. Once they reached her apartment, Yui stopped and looked up. Azusa stopped as well and looked back at her curiously.

"Nice place," Yui said, looking up at the building. Azusa blinked and looked up at it as well.

"Thanks, it's not very big though." Azusa said.

"Probably still bigger than my apartment," Yui said. "Definitely nicer." Yui said to herself, and Azusa almost didn't hear it, but she did, and looked at Yui with a frown, wondering just what kind of place Yui lived at. Yui looked at her again and smiled, making Azusa smile back.

"Well, I can walk myself the rest of the way." Azusa said, and Yui frowned a little bit, disappointed, but nodded anyway.

"Alright, well, goodnight, Nakano-san." Yui said.

"Goodnight, and thank you for walking me home," Azusa said and Yui nodded and turned around. As she started walking home, Azusa bit her lip nervously before shouting out after Yui. "I hope to see you again soon." Yui stopped walking and turned her head to look behind her.

"Well, you know where to find me." Yui said with a smile, and continued on her walk home, leaving Azusa to stare at her retreating form for much longer than she cared to admit.


End file.
